Syria “most likely” behind Al-Jazeera jamming - paper

Syria “most likely” behind Al-Jazeera jamming - paper

December 28th, 2011 - 15:43 UTC

by Andy Sennitt.

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Excerpt from report by Qatari newspaper Al-Rayah website on 24 December

The Al-Jazeera news network suffered deliberate interference to its [satellite] signals on 23 December, preventing many viewers from watching its broadcasts.

The network’s management announced new frequencies for the channel: via Nilesat on 11564 and 10853 [MHz], horizontal [polarization], 27500 [symbol rate], 3/4 [FEC]; and via Arabsat on 10890 vertical, 27500, 3/4.

By the evening of 23 December, the network had been unable to discover the source of the interference that was interrupting broadcasts via both satellites. A source close to the network said that the source of the interference was most likely Syria, based on Al-Jazeera’s coverage of the events there, which attracted international attention over the coverage of demonstrations and the repressive acts that are being exercised against rebels.

Al-Jazeera is being prevented from covering events, and counter-media campaigns target its staff. Three months ago, Al-Jazeera adopted new frequencies on the Nilesat and Arabsat satellites. The signal interference that the channel is suffering this time coincides with the painful and bloody events that the Syrian people are being subjected to during their revolt, especially after the network has shown over the past months a number of clips that reveal the actual torture and intentional murder of the unarmed rebels by the Syrian authorities.

[Passage omitted: Al-Jazeera jammed during Egyptian, Libyan uprisings]

(Source: Al-Rayah website, Doha, in Arabic 24 Dec 11 via BBC Monitoring)

US Condemns Jamming of 'Virtual Embassy Tehran'

December 07, 2011

US Condemns Jamming of 'Virtual Embassy Tehran'

The United States has condemned Iran's blockage of an interactive online "Virtual U.S. Embassy Tehran," less than 24 hours after it was officially launched in Washington.

In a statement Wednesday, the White House said that "through this action, the Iranian government has once again demonstrated its commitment to build an electronic curtain of surveillance and censorship around its people." The statement said "Tehran's systematic efforts to deny information to its citizens and to control what the Iranian people see and hear is doomed to fail in a 21st century when technology is empowering citizens around the globe."

The State Department launched the virtual diplomatic mission Tuesday, saying it is aimed at bridging the gap between Iranians and Americans that has existed since diplomatic relations were severed more than 30 years ago.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the unprecedented Internet project "a vehicle for the two peoples to communicate without fear." In her welcome video, Clinton also noted that thanks to the new technologies like the Web site, Iranians can find information about opportunities to study in America or obtain visas to come and visit.

Under-Secretary of State for political affairs Wendy Sherman said the online project is an effort to skirt the "electronic curtain" erected by Tehran to block Internet links between Iranians and the outside world.

The Iranian move came as representatives of five international broadcasters met in London to discuss the deliberate jamming of their broadcast signals in countries such as Iran that seek to prevent free access to information.

Voice of America joined the BBC, Deutsche Welle, Audiovisuel Exterieur de la France and Radio Netherlands Worldwide in signing a statement Wednesday, condemning the practices and calling for action to stop it.

In the statement, the five broadcasters say they have seen an escalation this year in the number of pressure tactics that have been used on the media accessed by audiences in Iran and other countries. They asked regulatory authorities to take action against those who deliberately cause interference to satellite signals on the grounds that this is contrary to international conventions.

Secretary Clinton announced the plans for the "Virtual U.S. Embassy Tehran" in an interview with VOA's Persian News Network in late October. Iran responded by saying the project will not succeed.

But U.S. officials expressed confidence that the new project will be popular, saying a State Department Persian Facebook page created earlier this year has already had about one million "hits."

Iranians are invited to contribute comments and criticism through links to State Department Twitter and Facebook accounts provided on the new website.

The U.S. virtual embassy web site is available in English at "Tehran.usembassy.gov" or "iran.usembassy.gov" and in Persian at "Persian.iran.usembassy.gov".

International broadcasters say Iran is increasing efforts to jam foreign broadcasts

By Associated Press, Published: December 8

LONDON — Leading international broadcasters on Wednesday accused Iran of increasing its intimidation of foreign media and accelerating efforts to jam satellite broadcasts in Farsi from reaching Iranian audiences.

Following a meeting of senior media executives in London, Voice of America, the British Broadcasting Corporation, Germany’s Deutsche Welle, France’s AEF and Radio Netherlands Worldwide issued a joint statement calling for an end to attempts to block independent media.

Iran has previously been criticized over its efforts to jam broadcasts and block websites of foreign-based Farsi-language media, including BBC Persian and Voice of America.

“We call upon the regulatory authorities to take action against those who deliberately cause interference to satellite signals,” the broadcasters said in a statement, urging national authorities to take up the issue at a meeting of the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva.

Tehran has accused the BBC, along with the British government, of fomenting the mass protests that broke out after Iran’s disputed presidential election in 2009.

In September, the BBC said jamming from within Iran had been expanded to target Eutelsat’s W3A satellite, which covers Africa, Europe and parts of the Middle East.

Iranian authorities have also questioned an unspecified number of people over their alleged links to BBC’s Farsi-language service, and arrested six independent filmmakers for allegedly providing the BBC with video and news reports perceived as damaging to Iran.

“We have seen an escalation this year in the number of pressure tactics that have been used on the media being accessed by audiences in Iran and other countries,” the broadcasters said in their statement.

The issue was discussed at a meeting in London of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the U.S. government funded agency which has channels broadcasting to about 187 million people in 100 countries.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Internet Censorship Growth Hampers News, Study Says

By JOHN MARKOFF

Published: October 11, 2011

A detailed study of Internet censorship in China and Iran shows that blocking techniques are changing rapidly and are becoming significant new obstacles for news organizations, governments and businesses.

The study, being published on Tuesday, focuses on Internet blocking faced by Iranian and Chinese visitors to BBC Web sites during periods of political unrest in the two countries over the last two years.

“This problem of Internet control is becoming an issue for more than human rights concerns,” said an author of the report, Ronald Deibert, the director of the Canada Center for Global Security Studies and the Citizen Lab, a University of Toronto organization that focuses on Internet security. “The fact is that you have dozens of countries not just filtering for porn, but political filtering and key events as well.”

The study, by the BBC and Dr. Deibert’s center, acknowledges that the Internet accounts for only about 13 percent of the broadcaster’s global audience, which totaled 225 million people in 2010-11. But it is increasingly important in authoritarian countries; for example, there are now 500 million Chinese Internet users, many times the number that listen to shortwave broadcasts.

The study documents the activities of firewall censorship during a variety of political events, including anniversaries of events like the Tiananmen Square protests.

The activities of censoring authorities are not easily predictable and can change rapidly, the authors say, adding that broadcasters must be ready to engage in a “cat and mouse” game with censors by constantly monitoring government firewall systems and by clever use of alternatives like Twitter and other social media.

Government censorship of broadcasters goes back at least to World War II, the report says. The Nazis enacted strict laws to prevent Germans from listening to foreign broadcasts, and radios were designed so they could not receive the broadcasts. During the cold war, the Soviets began an intensive radio-jamming campaign, and the United States responded with a “ring plan” — vast deployments of strategically placed shortwave transmitters meant to overwhelm the jammers.

The report, “Casting a Wider Net: Lessons Learned in Delivering BBC Content on the Censored Internet,” says the news media will need to form alliances to combat censorship efforts.

“Vietnam has been learning its blocking technology from China,” said the lead author, Karl Kathuria, the BBC’s senior operations manager. “One of our recommendations is that broadcasters get together as well.”

To help make its service available through firewalls, BBC has collaborated with Psiphon, a software firm that is a spinoff of the University of Toronto computer security researchers. The firm supplies circumvention software to BBC and the Voice of America as well as other organizations.

There are several ways to avoid firewall blocking systems. One of them, known as a Web proxy, routes requests for Web pages through an intermediate Internet address.

BBC: Iran targets new satellite to jam broadcast

BBC: Iran targets new satellite to jam broadcast

Posted: Sep 08, 2011 1:41 AM Updated: Sep 08, 2011 1:42 AM

LONDON (AP) - The BBC says Iran has stepped up the jamming of its Farsi-language television service by interfering with the operation of a Eutelsat satellite.

Jamming from within Iran has affected BBC Persian television since its launch in 2009, and the British broadcaster says that one of Eutelsat's high-power Hotbird satellites has been targeted since July.

But the BBC now says that Iran has expanded its jamming to target the Paris-based company's W3A satellite, which covers Africa, Europe and parts of the Middle East.

BBC foreign editor Jon Williams said in a message posted to Twitter that "we call on Tehran authorities to stop these illegal acts."

Eutelsat did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday. BBC Persian is still broadcasting on other satellites.

___

BBC Persian TV now jammed on two satellites

BBC Persian TV now jammed on two satellites

Date: 07.09.2011

Category: World Service

The deliberate jamming of BBC Persian TV from within Iran has now moved to two different satellites for the first time. The Hotbird satellite has been targeted since July and now the Eutelsat W3A satellite is subject to interference.

Eutelsat, the satellite owner, has validated the geolocalisation of the source of the interference as being in Iran.

Both BBC and Eutelsat condemn this extensive and deliberate act that is contrary to international conventions for the use of satellites.

Peter Horrocks, Director BBC Global News, said: "We continue to work closely with Eutelsat and the international regulatory community to find means of countering this interference. It is well known that Iran are actively engaged in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)'s Radio Regulations Board yet their fellow countrymen continue to flout the very conventions by which the industry operates.

"We call on those of influence to do all they can to impress upon Iran the illegal nature of the jamming and the need to cease this activity immediately."

Last year, the ITU Radio Regulations Board urged Iran to end interference hampering Eutelsat satellite operations.

BBC Persian TV continues to stream live online and on satellites T12 (15 degrees West) and EB2 (25.5 degrees East).

BBC Persian television launched in 2009 and has suffered similar deliberate attempts to interfere with its signal intermittently ever since.

Notes to Editors

BBC Persian is the BBC's integrated news and information service for Persian-speakers. It is available on air and on demand 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is designed to reach audiences on radio, television, the internet – on bbcpersian.com – mobile phones and handheld computers in whatever way best suits the audience. BBC Persian is one of the oldest of the BBC's non-English language services. Launched on 28 December 1940, it has evolved into the Persian-speaking world's leading international broadcaster, covering the political, social and cultural issues that matter to its diverse audiences in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and across the world. With its TV presence, BBC Persian is bringing the world to Persian-speaking audiences – reporting the news wherever it leads.

BBC World Service Press Office

Broadcasting of Al Arabiya resumes after deliberate jamming from unknown source

Wednesday, 31 August 2011

Al Arabiya News Channel's broadcast was jammed earlier on Wednesday by an unknown party. (File photo)

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By AL ARABIYA
DUBAI

Al Arabiya News Channel was jammed by unknown sources beginning early on Wednesday. It returned to normal broadcasting later on Wednesday.

This deliberate jamming seems to have been intended to interrupt Al Arabiya’s coverage of events taking place in the Arab region, especially in Libya and Syria.

The channel can be watched on its original permanent frequency on the Nilesat (12341 Vertical), in addition to the alternative frequencies of (12476) and (11488.)

Viewers can either do an auto-search for the new frequency or through the manual search.

This is not the first time that Al Arabiya has been deliberately jammed. At the beginning of the Libyan revolution the broadcast was jammed, and an investigation concluded that the jamming was instigated from a Qaddafi-regime intelligence center east of Tripoli.

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